Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti today with winds near 90 mph and very heavy rain. Many fear that this is just the beginning of an extremely dangerous storm.

“Most indications are that Gustav will be an extremely dangerous hurricane in the northwestern Caribbean Sea in a few days,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Center projected.

Longer-term projections show Gustav slicing along the south coast of Cuba during the week and possibly growing into a perilous Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph (190 kph) winds before entering the central Gulf of Mexico on Sunday.

Oil prices soared today as investors fear the hurricane will threaten the Gulf’s many drilling platforms. According to the AP, traders on the New York Mercantile Exchange were caught off guard by how fast the storm grew, and the price for a barrel of oil jumped $5 within minutes Tuesday morning.

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Bill Clinton is following in the footsteps of former VP and anti-global warming champion Al Gore by issuing his own list of top 10 things the federal government should do to promote clean energy, reduce emissions, and make the world an overall greener one. Clinton gave his clean energy speech in Las Vegas on Monday night at the National Clean Energy summit. One suggestion? Work with a single state - like Nevada - to become complete energy independent. The effects, he told the crowd, would “rock the world.”

Is the future new administration listening up? Here are Clinton’s top 10 suggestions for ensuring clean energy policies, courtesy of Earth2Tech:

1) Congress must pass legislation that puts a price on carbon and establish a cap-and-trade system. The alternative is passing a carbon tax, Clinton says, but adds that he tried that route already and it didn’t work out too well.

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(ITOTD= Inconvenient Truth of the Day)

Tropical Storm Fay hit Key West late this afternoon, and the National Hurricane Center in Miami warns that the storm could strengthen into a hurricane before by the time it reaches Florida’s coast.

CNN reports that a hurricane warning was issued Monday for southwestern Florida, from Flamingo to Anna Maria Island. The warning means hurricane conditions are expected within 24 hours.

Monroe County emergency officials suspended their evacuation efforts for the Florida Keys, saying it was time for everyone to stay indoors.

Fay’s intensity on her projected path is still uncertain but forecasters are cautioning that the storm is still threatening and must be taken seriously.

Baseball update: Hurricane Fay’s threat leaves status of the Rays vs. Angels game tomorrow night.  MLB officials are meeting today to decide the status of the game. Angels manager Mike Scioscia said that the team is staying in Florida and if Tuesday’s game is postpones, they play a double-header on Wednesday.

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This morning former Vice President, Academy Award winner, Emmy Award winner, and Nobel laureate (whew) Al Gore gave a speech at Constitution Hall in Washington DC  to press Congress and the President to take action on climate change.  In the speech he called for the US to make all of its electricity from carbon-free sources in 10 years, saying that “the survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk.”  Mr. Gore went on to chastise the administration for reliance on foreign oil and plans for Arctic and offshore drilling.

The speech was part of Mr. Gore’s new We Can Solve The Climate Crisis campaign that is brought together countless of celebrities from opposite ends of the spectrum (think Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich) demanding that we work together to fight global warming and carbon emissions.

In addition to supporing We Can Solve The Climate Crisis, there are lots of ways you can step up and takepart to fight climate change:

• Stay current on daily climate change news with our Inconvenient Truth of the Day
• Check out An Inconvenient Truth to see how it all got started
• Visit Climate Crisis to learn about taking action to cut down on your carbon emissions
• Check out The Onion’s Infographic on how climate change is affecting our security situation

Fast food chain Jack in the Box is giving away free tacos (not one, but two!) all day today if you bring an old gas receipt with you.  Free fast food! The marketing campaign is part of an effort to help consumers deal with high gas prices:

“The rising price of fuel is really putting the pinch on consumers,” said Terri Graham, senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Jack in the Box Inc. “Giving away free tacos is our way of letting guests know that Jack’s got their back in these tough economic times.” - from LasVegas’ KVBC News

Gas prices are so high, even corporate America has your back.  We’re all probably guilty of taking a late night fast food run, but are these free tacos really a worthwhile effort to cut down on high gas prices?  Probably not.

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TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7 struck eastern Honshu in northern Japan on Saturday, NHK television reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties and no tsunami warning was issued but NHK said Japan’s high-speed bullet trains in the area had stopped running.

Related:  6.9 Earthquake Rattles Japan

This extraordinary photo was taken by Lori Mehmen, who lives in the small farming town of Orchard in northeastern Iowa.

From the New York Times

Cedar Rapids, Iowa- The city that “would never flood” is 19 feet under. According to the AP, the Cedar River poured over its banks yesterday, forcing the evacuation of more than 3,000 homes, causing a railroad bridge to collapse and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets. Officials estimated that 100 blocks were underwater in Cedar Rapids, where several days of preparation could not hold back t he rain-swollen river.

A downtown hospital was forced to evacuate and all 176 patients, including about 30 patients in a nursing home facility at the hospital, were being transfered to other hospitals in the region.
takepart by donating to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.

Related:
Waters in Flooded City in Iowa Likely to Crest Soon
Cedar Rapids struggles to endure historic flood
Midwest floods expose aging, weak protection
Inconvenient Truth of the Day

Little Sioux, Iowa. A Tornado ripped through the Little Sioux Scout Ranch killing 4 teenage boy scouts and injuring over 40 people.

Josh Fennen, 13; Sam Thomsen, 13, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Nebraska; and Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa all lost their lives.

Tornadoes also touched down in Kansas on Wednesday. Those tornadoes killed at least two people in northern Kansas, destroyed much of the small town of Chapman and caused extensive damage on the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan.

takepart and visit the Daily Green’s ecopedia.

Related:
Tornado Kills 4 in Iowa Boy Scout Camp
Boy Scouts’ actions after tornado called heroic
Scouts praised for response to tornado in Iowa

Cedar Falls, Iowa - There was a mandatory evacuation of the downtown area yesterday due to the swollen Cedar River.

The small city of Vinton, home to 5,000 were forced to evacuate a 15 block area where water was already 3 feet deep. In Waterloo, Iowa, water swept away a railroad bridge and prompted the city to shut its downtown and close five bridges.

A sandbagged levee has so far been preventing Cedar River from rising out of its banks and flooding Cedar Falls, but city officials are calling for more volunteers to help secure the levee as more rain is expected in the area.

takepart visit The Daily Green’s Weird Weather Watch photo blog.

Related:

• Flooding will likely reach record levels in Northeast Iowa
• Cedar Falls being evacuated, Des Moines prepares for flood
• Rising Waters Pose a Threat
• Sandbagged levee holds in Iowa, protects city